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Court Finds County Liable For Failing To Direct A Community Water System To Notify Its Customers Of Contamination
by Alfred E. Smith and Martin A. Mattes
In Guzman v. County of Monterey, suit was filed on behalf of 80 men, women and children residing in Monterey County against the County of Monterey, the Monterey County Health Department, and the owner and operator of the Jensen Camp community water system. (California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, Monterey County Superior Ct. No M71543). Plaintiffs alleged that water supplied by the Jensen Camp community water system was contaminated, and that the County failed to provide notification of this contamination in violation of the California Safe Drinking Water Act, California Health and Safety Code sections 116270 et seq. ("the Act"), and title 22 of the California Code of Regulations ("the Regulations").
Although the County did not own and operate the water system, plaintiffs alleged that for purposes of California Health and Safety Code section 116330, the County was the "local primacy agency" responsible for ensuring that the system operated in compliance with the Act. Plaintiffs argued that the Act and the Regulations imposed a mandatory duty on the County to: (1) receive the system's water quality reports; (2) review those reports; (3) report water quality detections exceeding the maximum contaminant level ("MCL") to the Department of Health Services, now the Department of Public Health ("DPH"); (4) notify the system of its ongoing monitoring obligations; and (5) insure that the system gives notice of the contamination to its consumers.
The Court of Appeal's decision, largely sustaining the plaintiffs' claims, has important implications respecting the monitoring and reporting requirements for local primacy agencies under the Act. Even where an agency is not the owner or operator of a system, agencies may still be held liable if they do not perform a monthly review of water quality monitoring reports, and if they do not direct system operators to notify their customers when contamination exists. Agencies should take caution to ensure that monitoring reports are timely reviewed and that notifications are given in accordance with the Court's opinion.
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